Republican incumbent Kimberlyn King-Hinds won reelection Tuesday as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, capturing nearly two-thirds of the vote in a decisive victory that highlighted the 2026 general election.
Unofficial results showed King-Hinds receiving 8,194 votes, or 63.7% of ballots cast in the delegate race, securing another two-year term in Congress. Independent challenger Galvin Sablan Deleon Guerrero garnered 4,675 votes, or 36%.
While the delegate race produced a clear winner, voters left the contests for governor and attorney general unsettled, triggering runoff elections under CNMI law.
The Republican gubernatorial ticket of Ralph DLG Torres and Benjamin Jones Jr. finished first but failed to capture a majority of votes cast. They will face the independent team of Blas Jonathan Attao and Edmund S. Villagomez in a runoff election.
The independent ticket of Lawrence Camacho and Edith E. Deleon Guerrero finished third and was eliminated from contention.
In the attorney general race, attorneys Joaquin DLG Torres and Michael Evangelista advanced to a runoff after neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote. Attorney Jonathan Robert Glass Jr. placed third.
The race for attorney general was among the night's closest contests. Evangelista edged Glass by only 18 votes to claim the second runoff spot and keep his campaign alive.
Under CNMI law, a runoff election is required when no gubernatorial ticket or attorney general candidate receives more than half of all votes cast and counted in the general election. The runoff must be held within 14 days after the Commonwealth Election Commission certifies the election results.
Voters also considered whether to convene a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the CNMI Constitution. The proposal received majority support, with 7,602 voters casting ballots in favor and 4,324 voting against.
However, the measure failed because it did not meet the constitutional requirement that at least two-thirds of all votes cast on the question commonwealthwide be in favor. As a result, no constitutional convention will be convened.
The results set up two weeks of campaigning before voters return to the polls to decide the governor's office and attorney general post, while King-Hinds prepares to serve another term as the CNMI's representative in Washington.
